Turkey has reduced the flow of water from the Euphrates River into northeast Syria, while its proxies have cut the flow of water from the Allouk water station, depriving hundreds of thousands of people of access to clean water. In addition, the reduced water flow has caused electricity shortages in a region dependent on electricity generated by the Tabqa dam.
Since the invading Turkish state and its mercenary allies have interrupted the work of Elûk (Alouk) Water Station many times, serious water problems occur in the region.
Across the world, states are coming under pressure for their response to the coronavirus crisis. Some fail to adequately protect their citizens, some use Covid-19 as an excuse for authoritarian power-grabs, and some do both simultaneously. Here in North and East Syria, the autonomous region more commonly known as Rojava, 4m Syrians;– Kurds, Arabs, Christians
Sara Montinaro, project manager at Kurdish Red Crescent, explains the water situation in Heseke after the latest cut-off of Allouk water station which is under Turkish occupation. She was interviewed on 11 July 2020.
Pictures and video clips of the Euphrates when entering Syrian territory show shocking scenes of the course of the largest river in the country, two months after Turkey reduced the rate of water flowing to the Syrian side.
Lack of international recognition as a state has disastrous consequences on an area already suffering from war and displacement.
According to the Til Hemis Water Committee, the main problems are the electricity interruption.
Turkey, with the help of its GAP dam system, has again reduced the flow of the Euphrates. Less than a third of the prescribed amount of water now flows into Syria and Iraq.
Sozda Ahmed is the co-chair of the Water Bureau for Heseke canton. She was interviewed on 8 April 2020.
In many places in Rojava water has been scarce since the invasion. Getting enough water for all people is a big challenge in the shadow of war, embargo and coronavirus emergency. At least the problem in the Washokani camp could now be solved.
A new campaign named “Water for Rojava” has been launched two weeks ago aiming at rising funds to help women’s co-operatives and democratic local municipalities in Rojava and other parts of North-East Syria.
“How do you treat the nature, how people are treated, how our interior is treated, that is where the health debate starts.”
